July 10, 2012

Reducing the time Americans spend sitting to fewer than 3 hours/day would increase life expectancy by 2 years, finds a Pennington Biomed. Res. Ctr. study helmed by Peter Katzmarzyk. The research also indicates that reducing the time spent watching TV to fewer than 2 hours would increase life expectancy by 1.4 years. US adults spend about 5 hours/day sitting. The study highlights "sedentary behavior as an important risk factor, similar to smoking and obesity," says Katzmarzyk who analyzed data on 167,000 adults. It looked at the link between sitting and the risk of dying from any cause over the next 4-14 years. His conclusion: about 27% of deaths could be attributed to sitting; 19% to television watching habits. The study is one among a growing number that suggests sitting may be deadly.

Women with recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) may benefit from drinking cranberry juice often or consuming other cranberry-containing products, say researchers who evaluated 13 studies on the effectiveness of preventing UTIs with cranberries. The studies involved more than 1,600 people. Researchers say that children, those who use cranberry-containing products more than twice a day, cranberry juice drinkers and women with frequent UTIs are most likely to benefit. The results showed that UTIs occurred 38 percent less often in people who used cranberry products like supplements or juice compared to those who didn't. The research is published in Archives of Internal Medicine.

Planning for a wedding isn't so different from planning for a disaster, says the CDC. They say you should "Get a Kit, Make a Plan, and Be Informed." The bridal kit would contain makeup for touchups, safety pins and "maybe a few sedatives," as well as other essentials from a home emergency kit. The plan would include details on contacting guests in the event of an emergency, as well as choosing a "runner" who can take care of errands. The CDC also urges anyone planning a wedding to stay informed about possible issues, including putting feuding family members in the same room. They also say it never hurts to have a box of chocolates handy for helping to deal with a Bridezilla!

Pauline Potter of Sacramento, California, the Guinness World Records holder of the title World's Heaviest Living Woman, has reunited with her ex-husband Alex for sex sessions that are helping her shed pounds. The UK's Closer reports that Potter, who has a BMI of 93, says the "sexathons" occur between two and seven times a day during the eight days a month that Alex visits. Despite being unable to move around much, Potter says she's lost about 14 pounds a month since reuniting with Alex last year. Potter's target weight is 532 pounds. She refers to her sessions as "sexercise," and says she's sweating "loads of calories." Potter tells Closer that she still eats Big Macs, but now chooses between fries or nuggets. She also asks Alex to visit more so she can shed the pounds more quickly.

More at Closer | Hat tip to Gawker | Posted 5 years ago by Peggy Rowland

New research shows that obese pregnant women are more likely to give birth to babies with low iron levels. Fifteen pregnant women with a body mass index over 30 and 15 healthy controls had blood drawn in their second trimester so scientists could measure hepcidin, a hormone that balances iron levels. Cord blood was used to measure the babies’ iron levels. Obese pregnant women had higher hepicidin levels and their newborns had lower iron levels. Normally, this hormone is low during pregnancy so a protein can efficiently transfer iron from mom to fetus but chronic low-grade inflammation common with obesity increases it. Iron aides in the proper development of the fetus’ central nervous system, raising concern about a potentially higher risk of developmental delays in kids born with low iron.